MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical railcar traffic in North America remained depressed last week as US Gulf Coast chemical producers attempted to restart following freeze-related shutdowns, reported Chemweek.
During the week ended 27 February, volume totaled 40,696 carloads, up 15.4% from the previous week, but down 15.3% year-over-year (YOY), according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
On a four-week basis, volume was down 9.4% from 2020 and 6.4% from 2019 (chart). For the year to date, volume was down 1.9% from 2020 and 0.1% from 2019.
Chemical railcar traffic in the United States contributed 27,768 carloads to the total, down 18.4% YOY and up 16.4% from the previous week. For the year to date, US chemical railcar traffic is down 3.1%.
Canadian chemical rail traffic totaled 12,142 carloads, down 7.3% YOY and up 15.9% from the previous week. For the year to date, Canadian chemical railcar traffic is up 1.5%.
Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totaled 786 carloads, a YOY decrease of 18.5% and a sequential decrease of 14.3%. For the year to date, Mexican chemical railcar traffic is down 2.3%.
As MRC informed before, Chemical rail traffic in North America closed January strong, pushing year-to-date volume up 5.7% from 2020 and 5.5% from 2019. During the week ended 30 January, volume totaled 48,312 carloads, up 5.2% from the previous week and up 4.4% year-over-year (YOY), according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). On a four-week basis, volume increased 5.6% from 2020 and 3.7% from 2019.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC